Alisa Efimova is called her own in many countries. She was born in Finland, lived and performed in Russia for a long time, and in recent years she has been associated with Germany in sports. Now a new chapter. tells the unique story of a Russian figure skater who came under the American flag.
Efimova always dreamed of competing in pair skating, so at the age of 15 she moved to Russia from her hometown of Kovuola, 140 kilometers from Helsinki. The fact is that in Finland it was almost impossible to find any promising partner.
It was 2014 outside, the Olympic Games in Sochi had just died down. Figure skating has reached the peak of popularity in Russia. Efimova got to the coach Natalya Pavlova, and she picked up her partner — Alexander Korovin. The first two seasons went downhill, so there were no special results. Perhaps this was the decisive factor for the transition of Efimova from Pavlova to Oleg Vasilyev to Tamara Moskvina's club.Efimova skated with Korovin for six seasons. During all this time, the couple has never managed to break into the top three at the Russian Championship and, consequently, at the European and World Championships. But one flash season, when the couple was seriously talked about as one of the leaders in the team, they still had. In 2018-2019, without getting to the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Efimova and Korovin won the Golden Skate of Zagreb, the Nebelhorn Trophy and the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk. The Grand Prix series also went well: the silver of the stage in America and the fifth place in Moscow.Even then, there were contradictions in the team. There were no high-profile conflicts, but the situation was reflected in the results of the next season. After the ninth place in the Russian Championship, Alisa Efimova left the Vasiliev group alone, without a partner. As she then explained, it was Alexander who did not see the point in continuing further work together. Since she did not feel that she realized herself in sports, she had to create her own future.
The search for a partner led Alice to the German figure skater Ruben Blommaert. He was also alone then, but, as he admitted, he had the greatest ambitions and goals. The couple began training, despite the financial and organizational difficulties. They expected to roll up to the Beijing Olympics. But Efimova received permission to play for Germany only in May 2022, when the Games had already passed. Nevertheless, in the absence of banned Russian athletes and with reduced competition, Efimova/Blommart had a good chance in the international arena.
There was no instant breakthrough. As well as failure. They won several silver medals in the Grand Prix series and Series B tournaments, and stopped a step away from the podium at the European Championships. At the 2023 World Championships, they finished tenth. It was then that it turned out that Alice and Ruben have different goals and willingness to make sacrifices. She was still focused on the Olympics and believed in herself. Ruben has already thought about his personal life and hastened to end his career. So Alice, at the age of 23, was again left face to face with the need to look for a partner. Athletes have different motivations to continue their careers. Efimova turned out to be one of those for whom there is nothing more important than two things: the Olympics — the pinnacle of all achievements — and the efforts that her family spent to conquer this peak. Give up and drop everything halfway? It would be unthinkable.
It is hard to imagine what it cost her, but so far the whole story of Efimova looks like a vivid illustration of the expression «he who seeks will find.» A suitable partner for Alice was quickly found in America. His name is Misha Mitrofanov. It is not difficult to guess that Misha also has Russian roots: in the mid-90s, his parents, businessmen, moved to the United States, fleeing from gang wars.
The figure skater described the story of the appearance of their pair as follows: “After the news about the end of Ruben’s career appeared, Misha wrote to me and asked if I was interested in a tri-out (trying to pair up. — Ed.). We immediately phoned, to find out the situation of each of us.It was the day after I arrived from the World Championships in Japan.I knew that I wanted to continue, so I immediately decided that I would try all possible options.
America seemed, of course, very far away. Before deciding on this trip, I now phoned my coach Olga Ganicheva to find out more about the training process in their group and make sure they were interested in a new pair. Olga said that in order to find out everything, it is worth coming. And I really understood that no matter where, you need to try all the options. So I immediately took tickets to Boston.
Mitrofanov is 26 years old, and he is the current champion of the Four Continents paired with Audrey Lou. So far, this is perhaps the most titled of all Efimova's partners.
“Our tri-out with Misha took place in Boston under the guidance of our coaches. It lasted five days, and on the third day we realized that we were training as if in a full-fledged regime. We had already done parallel triple jumps, triple throws, various lifts, everything todes and rotations, triple twist on the floor. The coaches confirmed that they see that we are suitable for each other, «said Efimova.
The couple will train under the guidance of Olga Ganicheva and Alexei Letov. The programs have already been delivered. The German Figure Skating Federation has given Alice a release, so there's only one thing left to do: wait until a year has passed since her last appearance on the international stage under the German flag. During this season, Efimova/Mitrofanov will compete only at domestic American competitions. But starting from the 2024/25 season, nothing will fetter them. So we can say that the road to the Olympic Games in Milan is open for the couple. Alice's perseverance can only be applauded.
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«An added plus is that we are both experienced hotbeds. After all the trials, I realized that Misha is the best partner for me and that it makes sense to continue my career only with him,» says the skater.